Learn to teach and assess writing with the 6-Traits of writing (voice, ideas, word choice, organization, sentence fluency and conventions). Learn to use the 6-Traits with the writing process to teach revision strategies. Help learners meet higher standards and improve test scores.

Language is an amazing communicative phenomenon that has picked the interest of linguists and scientists across different disciplines. While we do share with other animals the ability to communicate using a language form of some sort, communicating using a linguistic code in the form of encoded script remains the preserve of human beings. In fact, language in its linguistic written form is behind the development of humankind from primitive agrarian societies to highly technologized mobs.

To shed light on some of the amazing features that characterize language, we are sharing with you this collection of TED Ed videos covering some interesting linguistic phenomena. Have a look and share with us what you think of them.

Write About was built to be a part of the writing process in classrooms, helping students find an audience and teachers give personalized feedback. Social publishing and writing pedagogy are part of the same conversation, and these resources and lessons will help your class make the transition to digital writing!

Dennis T OConnor's insight:

Here's a startup with some energy and ideas to help writing teachers. Investigate!

Many would-be writers spend far too much time nervously scrabbling about for a voice, but the word itself is horribly misleading. "Voice" (unlike "power", for instance, or "presence") suggests a superficial quality, one that can be manipulated by having singing lessons, or by changing the tone, volume or accent.

There is nothing superficial, however, about voice when used in the context of writing. Your writing voice is the deepest possible reflection of who you are. The job of your voice is not to seduce or flatter or make well-shaped sentences. In your voice, your readers should be able to hear the contents of your mind, your heart, your soul.

Dennis T OConnor's insight:

When I read this description of voice I felt my writer's mind tingle down through all my limbs.

Uploaded on Oct 7, 2009http://www.ted.com Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.

Dennis T OConnor's insight:

This is a video about finding your cultural voice. It speaks directly to the quest for voice that each writer (young and old) must pursue.

http://www.coolrules.com iPhone/iPad/iPod App...Put the apostrophe back in its place... If you like this you'll probably like The Apostrophe Song iPhone/iPad App available from the iTunes App Store. It costs hardly anything.

Check out hip hop, rock and acoustic versions in the iTunes music store.You won't forget where to put an apostrophe again. Visit www.coolrules.com for more information. Follow The Apostrophe Song on Twitter

Dennis T OConnor's insight:

This is a plug for a clever iPhone App. If some music and an app can get the concepts across to your class.... why not use the tool?

Reading Read Write Teach is like sitting down for coffee with a master teacher that you feel you’ve known for years. Linda Rief is full of experience, advice, and inspiration, which makes this book feel more like a conversation than a book..

An historian has unearthed the first unseen Sherlock Holmes story in more than 80 years that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote to help save a town bridge.

Walter Elliot, 80, found the 1,300-word tale starring the famous detective in a collection of short stories written for a local bazaar.The wooden bridge in the Scottish town of Selkirk was destroyed by the great flood of 1902 and locals organised a three-day event to raise funds for a new one in 1904.

Dennis T OConnor's insight:

This is no hoax. This find says something reassuring about printing on paper.

Surprisingly, modern telecommunications are part of the picture as Conan Doyle's portrayal of 'editorial demands' set's the scene.

I suspect most modern writers and nearly all bloggers are part- time workers at "Institute of Fiction" and reminded that card carrying members of the 'Faculty of Imagination".

The article includes a link to the full manuscript. I've read and re-read all of the Sherlock Holmes stories many times. What a treat!

Although these activities seem to be targetting Middle school, they can easily be adapted to target Higher Education, Undergraduate courses. Some can even easily translate to to online virtual classroom situations, such as the brainstorming with a twist and the word association activities.

It provides daily news stories, with the same one edited several times for different reading levels. The stories also have self-scoring quizzes and provide decent “critical thinking” questions that students can respond to in the comments. On top of that, teachers can create virtual classrooms to monitor it all, as well as moderating student comments.And it’s all available for free!

Dennis T OConnor's insight:

I can see this working in a tech enabled reading/writing classroom. Will it work for you?

How Writers Write Poetry 2015 offers an interactive progression through the principles and practice of writing poetry. The course presents a curated collection of short, intimate talks on craft by two dozen acclaimed poets writing in English. Craft topics include persona, notebooking, the line, the turn, form, and the lyric. The talks are designed for beginning poets just starting to put words on a page as well as for advanced poets looking for new entry points, engagement with process, or teaching tips. The course will be taught by Professor Christopher Merrill, International Writing Program Director, poet, and translator; and Camille Rankine, poet, Assistant Director of the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Manhattanville College, and editorial director of The Manhattanville Review.

Dennis T OConnor's insight:

The University of Iowa is well known for writing instruction. As a writing teacher, why not write with the help of the Massive, Open, Online Class?

In a bid to build trust between her and her students, Schwartz thought up a lesson plan called "I Wish My Teacher Knew."

For the activity, Schwartz's third graders jot down a thought for their teacher, sharing something they'd like her to know about them.

"I let students determine if they would like to answer anonymously," she says. "I have found that most students are not only willing to include their name, but also enjoy sharing with the class. Even when what my students are sharing is sensitive in nature, most students want their classmates to know.

Dennis T OConnor's insight:

Writing teachers have a special window into the lives of their students. Develop the trust in your classroom and help your kids to write from the heart. What you'll learn about their lives will stay with you forever.

So what would a lesson for students look like if it was inspired by something shared from the teacher's iPod? The purpose of this page is to answer that question. It contains many writing across the curriculum lessons created by many amazing teachers from nearly all curriculum areas. Each lesson is tied to the writing process, the writing traits and a “mentor text” which, in each poetry lesson below, is the song and its lyrics. Read, enjoy, and give some of them a try. We will consistently be adding great lessons to this page. Perhaps yours will be one of them.

Dennis T OConnor's insight:

Inspired ideas from writing teachers working in the classroom. Share and enjoy.

Steve Eklund is a retired California teacher who has seen what overzealous testing can do in public schools.

“I used to love teaching,” said Eklund. “Four words drove me into retirement—No Child Left Behind. I could no longer attend to the needs and wants of my students. All I was supposed to do was to get them ready to take tests.”

Educators and public education supporters across the country are speaking out, emailing their legislators, sharing their stories and signing the ESEA petition to let Congress know one important message—the current Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as No Child Left Behind, is not working.

Rather than closing achievement gaps and providing equal opportunities for all students, the focus has shifted from student learning towards testing, labeling and punishing schools.

Here are more stories of what No Child Left Behind has meant for teachers and their classrooms:

I left the classroom just as NCLB was taking hold. I've worked with thousands of teachers doing online professional development. I've witnessed the erosion of moral and teaching spirit propagated by this disastrous legislation.

It's long past time for NCLB to be set aside. It doesn't work, it never has worked. The stories will break your heart.

Concepts, instructional methods and assessment strategies for improving writing instruction, middle school through post-secondary. Self-assessment strategies, application of 6-traits, technology and software applications, and writing across the curriculum.

This class will focus on how to apply the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory's 6+1 Traits™ model to the process of teaching and evaluating writing.

The course activities will investigate the vocabulary, concepts, and application of writing traits to classroom instruction and student assessment. Take a few moments to review the class objectives.

Each module is structured around an Introduction, Readings, Lecture, Activities, an Activity Checklist, and Discussion Forum.

You will work individually and as part of a community to practice and refine your assessment skills. You will score a variety of demonstration papers, discuss your rationale with online colleagues, discover a variety of classroom strategies for teaching the traits, and share your own teaching methods.

While online education is highly flexible and designed to meet your schedule, you will need to set and meet deadlines as part of your weekly assignments and collaborative work. Additionally, your colleagues will depend on you for timely feedback as you work together to deepen and clarify essential concepts.

Dennis T OConnor's insight:

This course is offered three times a year. It becomes an amazing international community of writing teachers who share practical classroom methods while learning to assess writing with the 6-Traits.

Tuition: $415 per semester hour graduate credit / $1245 a course. There is no registration fee. Tuition is the same for in-state, out-of-state and international participants.

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